SPH Media Trust

Who owns SPH Media?
SPH Media Trust is a company limited by guarantee with no shareholders. It is not legally state-owned, but it receives government funding and operates under ministerial oversight rules covering newspaper control.

Is SPH Media publicly traded?
No. Its predecessor, Singapore Press Holdings, was listed on the Singapore Exchange until the media business was spun off in 2021 and the remaining entity was later taken private.

What newspapers does SPH Media own?
It publishes The Straits Times, The Business Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu, Shin Min Daily News and tabla!, along with the Stomp platform that absorbed The New Paper in 2025.

When was SPH Media founded?
SPH Media Trust was incorporated on 19 July 2021 and began operations on 1 December 2021, though its flagship The Straits Times dates to 1845.

How is SPH Media funded?
Through a mix of newspaper circulation and digital subscriptions, advertising, events, radio revenue and direct government funding provided since 2024 for public service journalism.

Does SPH Media own radio stations?
Yes. It operates five FM stations: Money FM 89.3, Kiss92, One FM 91.3, 96.3 Hao FM and UFM100.3, plus the Awedio streaming service.

Is SPH Media independent from the government?
Formally it is a non-profit private entity. In practice it receives state funding, operates under statutory newspaper controls, and is classified by press freedom monitors as closely aligned with the government.

The titles inside SPH Media far predate the entity itself. The Straits Times began in 1845, making it one of Asia's oldest English-language newspapers still in publication. Tamil Murasu followed in 1935, and Berita Harian launched in Kuala Lumpur in 1957 before establishing its Singapore edition in 1965. The Business Times arrived in 1976 to serve the growing financial sector.

Lianhe Zaobao was created in 1983 when Nanyang Siang Pau merged with Sin Chew Jit Poh, consolidating Chinese-language publishing. Singapore Press Holdings Limited incorporated in 1984 as a listed company, absorbing these titles plus Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao and the short-lived Singapore Monitor. It added Tamil Murasu in 1995 through the Hipro Printing acquisition.

For decades SPH was a cash machine, funding property development and investments from monopoly newspaper profits. Digital disruption ended that model. Circulation and print advertising collapsed through the 2010s, and the media division began losing money while the group's property assets propped up the listed entity.

In May 2021 SPH announced it would spin the media business into a company limited by guarantee, arguing the model had become structurally unprofitable and needed relief from shareholder return obligations. Shareholders approved the transfer in September 2021; SPH Media Trust incorporated in July and began operating on 1 December 2021. The listed parent retained property and investment assets and was taken private in May 2022 by Cuscaden Peak, a consortium led by Keppel Corporation.

Consolidation continued under the new structure. Lianhe Wanbao merged into Shin Min Daily News at the end of 2021. The New Paper ended print in December 2021, then merged into Stomp on 30 October 2025, with its standalone website closing on 1 December 2025. Tech in Asia joined the portfolio through a 2023 acquisition agreement. In February 2024 the government announced direct funding for SPH Media, and 2025 brought continued investment in digital subscriptions, with The Straits Times' paywall revenue becoming a larger share of the mix.

The defining controversy is editorial independence. Reporters Without Borders consistently ranks Singapore low on press freedom, and critics describe the national titles as establishment-aligned. In July 2025 SPH executives' visit to Chinese state media, and subsequent cooperation agreements with outlets including Xinhua, drew parliamentary questions and public criticism.

Commercially, the company's 2021 restructuring was itself contentious: shareholders approved the media spin-off after SPH disclosed the division was loss-making, and the shift to public funding sharpened debate over whether taxpayers should underwrite a dominant publisher. The New Paper's 2025 absorption into Stomp and successive staff reductions have also drawn scrutiny from the Creative Media and Publishing Union.